Donald Trump's suspension of a short-lived "Project Freedom" to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz, after he claimed progress had been made towards reaching a "Full and Final Deal" with Iran, calmed oil markets and gave them hope for a major breakthrough, the BBC reported, Gazeta Express reports.
But expectations were quickly tempered by the US president himself.
Iran said on Wednesday it was considering a new proposal from Washington, after US media quoted unidentified US officials as saying the two sides were finalizing a one-page memorandum to end the war in the Persian Gulf.
A source close to the mediators in Pakistan told the Reuters news agency: "We will close this very soon. We are getting close to it."
But hours after posting on Truth Social on Tuesday evening that he was suspending Project Liberty to see if “the deal can be finalized and signed,” Trump suddenly changed his tone.
He said Wednesday morning that a deal with Iran was a "big assumption" and if it was not agreed, bombing at "a much higher level and intensity than it was before" would resume.
The president's threat came less than 24 hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the White House that Operation Epic Fury, the American-led military strikes on Iran, had ended.
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